FutureRising.com, an online platform that finds, develops and connects the best graduates with the UK’s creative industries looking for new talent, announced on Thursday the launch of its crowdfunding campaign through Seedrs.
The funding will be used to grow the team and platform capability allowing FutureRising to further build its “50-strong” client list which includes BBH, OMD, Quantcast and Cambridge, Oxford, Birmingham and Bournemouth universities.
Donald Fogarty, co-founder of FutureRising, stated:
“The recruitment industry is antiquated. Careers advice is outdated, traditional recruitment has lost its way and thousands of graduates are unable to find relevant work despite the opportunities being there. On the flip side, across the board one of the biggest challenges for the UK’s creative industry is finding talent – particularly at entry level. This challenge gets bigger the smaller the business is. The reality is, 47% of graduates are in non-graduate roles despite these roles existing in SME’s across the UK (Source: ONS).”
The demand for better careers advice and valuable connections is clear. Since launch 18 months ago, 3,500 students, graduates, teachers and professionals have joined the platform along with 50 fee paying members from across the industry.
Adam Oldfield, co-founder of FutureRising, commented:
“We are inviting members of the public and angel investors to invest via the crowdfunding site, Seedrs, in return for equity shares. We’re on track to increase our client list to 400 companies and 100 institutions and placing over 1,500 graduates in their first job by 2019.”
The new round of shareholders will join existing investors Dave Allen and Roger Partington, who before establishing brand consultancy BrandPie were CEO of Team Vodafone at WPP and Marketing Director at Nestle respectively.
Dave Buonaguidi, chief creative officer of Crispin Porter & Bogusky, shared:
“The passion they have and the passion they imbue – is essential. I don’t think there are enough organisations helping foster talent in this way. The recruitment challenge across the nation’s creative industries is significant and costly and if we are to continue to compete on a global level, this needs to be addressed and quickly.”
Catherine Alexander, careers advisor at the University of Cambridge added:
“I’ve enjoyed working with FutureRising, I’ve learned a lot in the process and seen the platform develop substantially in the last couple of years. Through FutureRising events our students have been exposed to a range of companies that we could never have hoped to get speakers from. They operate as a true point of connection and are opening doors to a much sought after but historically tough industry to get into.”
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